Help: I lied about my current salaryI got a job offer last week. However, I realized that I may made a silly mistake. Since I wasn' t comfortable when asked about my current salary during the interview and I was afride they will benchmark it, so I gave out a number a bit higher than what I' m making. Now I seriously regretting making that false statement. If they find out at backgroud checking, they can fire me. Now what I should do? To confess it to the HR representative or simply live with it? If I choose to confess, will they still trust me? If I not saying anything, I may put myself in constant fear. My friend say don' t worry about it, most company care more about your credentials not your salary history. But I feel uneasy. Please help me!!!! Sorry, no one here can help you with this. You either have to own up or wait and see if they catch you. And to your friends, if a company ASKS about salary history, then yes, they do care about it. It is one of the dumbest things to lie about since it is incredibly easy to catch. Your friend doesn' t quite get it, no disrespect intended. Credentials notwithstanding, most companies don' t want to hire liars. Your only have one viable course of action and that' s to call and say you accidently mis-spoke when you provided your salary information and that the correct amount should have been $X not $Y. All the prospective employer has to do, and this one very well could, is ask you to bring in a copy of a recent pay stub and a copy of your W-2. If you get caught lying, you' re toast. It' s far better to admit the "mistake" than to get caught in a lie. Your credentials may be great, but tell you friend that' s not the point. Lying is the point. In my experience I believe if they really want you it does not matter. I was asked (as a manager for one associated who left the company) to verify an employee salary by responding "yes" or "no" but not a specific answer. I do not think you have anything to really worry about. And when they ask this person to bring in a recent pay stub, then what? Don' t you guys get it? It' s not the amount put down - it' s the lie that' s the killer! And I most sincerely disagree that lying doesn' t matter. Not only on this board, but throughout my experience over more than a quarter century, I have yet to find one company who wants to hire liars or who think lying doesn' t really matter. If you read these boards, you' ll find dozens of people over just the last several years that have posted because they can' t believe they lost a job offer over this lie about salary. It happens all the time, it is incredibly easy to check and it absolutely does matter, or they wouldn' t ask about it in the first place. Did you give them permission to contact your current employer? I know that when I left my last job due to lay-offs, our Director of HR told me that when potential employers call them for verification of employment they do not give out salary information. She said they verify the position and time of employment. She said that they tell the callers that they need verification from the former employee before releasing that information. I'm not sure if that is the norm. Maybe there is a way you can find out without letting on that you are looking for a new position.... Although lots of employers do still verify salary, others will at least say yes or no to a range. If they can' t get the info from your employer, all they have to do is ask you to bring in a pay stuff or W-2. Someone said an old/current company isn' t supposed to give out salary information. True, but a good recruiter knows how to get the information. It' s the same with recommendations. If the recruiter asks the right question it’s easy to determine if the old/current company is satisfied with the associate whether they can give out a recommendation legally or not. Confess to the “mistake” or “confusion” now. (and make it good but simple)No use leaving a job just to get fired at the next. Most big companies will not release past salary info. The best they will do is a range. Most people get caught when they ask for a past pay stub. As far as confessing, I personally wouldn't do it if you have already started working. Just remember in the future to not give an exact number and not lie. Give them a range that your salary was in. FYI I have worked for 5 different companies in the past 12 years. Not one of them has asked for a pay stub. As much as some people claim to be experts. The way things are done vary from market to market. | |
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